I slowly became aware of a faint taste in my mouth—a sweet, smoky, lush flavor. Decadent. Powerful. My lips tingled. So did my fingers. I stretched, enjoying the pull of my muscles as I wiggled my toes.
A body moved against mine. A sudden inhalation of breath brought a chest against my back. “Liessa,” a familiar, deep voice murmured—one I’d recognize anywhere, anytime. “There you are.”
Ash.
My eyes fluttered open to a vivid, deep sapphire sky streaked with trailing pink and amethyst clouds. Confusion rose as I squinted. I’d never seen such a sky before. My gaze lowered to trees in an array of blues and violets that bordered on pink, reminding me of the jacaranda trees outside Wayfair.
Disjointed memories flashed. The cavern of lilacs. Arriving in the Bonelands. Freeing Eythos. Wrenching, terrible pain, and then nothing.
I stared at the surreal, brightly colored landscape. Had I…had I died?
That didn’t make sense. If I had, I wouldn’t be in Ash’s arms. He couldn’t be near souls who had gone beyond the Pillars of Asphodel without risking the destruction of their souls. And wouldn’t I have remembered passing through them and being judged? Despite what Ash believed about my soul, I seriously doubted I’d end up someplace as beautiful as this. At the very least, I
would’ve been one of those souls who needed a more thorough look. Could this be that? If so, why did my temples still ache?
“Am I…?” I cleared my throat, causing the sultry taste to fade. “Did I die?”
“What?” His arm tightened around my waist. “Fates, no, Sera.”
I wiggled again, feeling a soft mattress under me. We were on some sort of sofa. “Where are we?”
“The Thyia Plains.” Ash shifted me in his embrace, and my head suddenly came to rest in the crook of his arm. I stared up at him. His hair was a rich, warm, reddish-brown and fell against the cut line of his jaw. The
golden-bronze hue of his skin was paler, and I saw concern etched into the striking lines and angles of his face. “Keella thought you’d be more
comfortable here. We’re on the veranda of her palace.”
My gaze inched away from his, running over the terracotta stone floor and then beyond to the cliffs that stretched out on either side. I saw Ehthawn. The draken was curled on one of the rocky bluffs, his head resting on the sun- warmed rock. I would’ve thought him asleep if not for the one open crimson eye and the idle twitching of his tail. I scanned the other cliffs, not seeing
Nektas or the other draken.
Ash smoothed his thumb down my cheek, the coolness of his touch surprising me. It was even colder than before.
I swallowed, glancing down at my hands—my empty hands. My stomach twisted. “Where is The Star?”
“Keella and Attes have it,” he said, and I relaxed. “How are you feeling?”
“I…I don’t know. Okay?” My gaze flicked back to his. “I passed out, didn’t I?”
“You did.”
My mind cleared of the remaining fog, and I stiffened. “Oh, gods, I’m sorry.”
His dark brows furrowed. “For what?”
“For passing out right in the middle of freeing your father.” Ash’s expression smoothed out. “Sera—”
“I saw him touch you. He was talking to you, wasn’t he? In a way no one
else could hear?” I could clearly see Eythos’s soul drifting upward. “Please, tell me you didn’t focus on me when I passed out.”
“I could hear him—his voice.” Ash’s thickened. “I didn’t think I’d ever hear it again, but I did. Thanks to you.”
“I really didn’t do much.”
“Liessa,” he chided softly, drawing his thumb across the skin below my lip. “You did everything.”
A knot lodged in my chest. “But then I had to go and pass out, ruining what was a beautiful moment. So that undoes—”
“It undoes nothing, Sera. You didn’t interrupt anything. His soul was leaving this realm.”
“Are you sure I didn’t—?”
“I’m positive.” Ash dipped his head, kissing my forehead. “He couldn’t linger here. He didn’t want to after all this time.”
I imagined not.
Gods, I really hoped he wasn’t lying to me. “What did he say to you?” My eyes widened at my question. “I mean, you don’t have to tell me. I’m sure it was private—”
“He told me that he loved me.” Ash drew his fingers along my jaw. “That he was proud of me—of the man I’ve become.”
“Oh,” I whispered, feeling the knot make its way to my throat. Tears pricked my eyes.
He stretched his neck to the side. “I almost couldn’t believe he said that, to be honest.”
“Why?” I lifted a hand, relieved that it didn’t take as much effort as walking up those damn Temple steps had. “Of course, he would be proud of you.”
“I’ve done a lot of things that no one would be proud of.”
My heart ached for him. “You did things others made you do.”
“I’m not talking just about that, liessa. Just in the last twenty-four hours, I’ve committed indisputable atrocities—killing those who laid down their swords. Those who turned and ran from me.”
I frowned. “I wouldn’t consider that an atrocity.”
Ash raised a brow. “Such an act would likely send a mortal’s soul into the Abyss.”
“This is different,” I reasoned.
One side of his lips tipped up. “Care to explain that reasoning?” “Not really.”
He chuckled.
I searched his features. “Do you regret killing them? The ones who surrendered or ran?”
“No.”
His quick answer told me he spoke the truth. “Good.” Ash cocked his head.
“What? I would’ve regretted it for a whole three-point-five seconds and then moved right on. You know that.” And he did because I’d shared my
struggles concerning my lack of guilt. “You told me before that all of us are capable of monstrous acts, but it does not make us monsters.”
“I did.”
My gaze dropped to the collar of his shirt. The loose opening revealed a swatch of his shoulder and the black ink there. “One hundred and ten,” I murmured, lifting my eyes to his. He may say he didn’t regret taking those lives, but underneath his anger, he did. He was better than me, less monstrous. “Do not add those lives to your flesh,” I said. Right or wrong, I didn’t want that for him.
Thick lashes lowered, and he nodded. I felt his chest rise again with a deep but shaky breath.
“Did he say anything else?” I asked.
Ash nodded. “He told me not to forget what he said when we were near the Red River, rounding up the Shades.” His jaw tensed as his thumb skated over the line of my cheekbone. “It was the last time I saw him alive.”
“What did he tell you?”
“That’s the thing.” Ash hesitated, his eyes darting away from mine before returning. He curtly shook his head. “I don’t remember.”
His denial hung in the air between us, and I bit down on the inside of my lip, tasting a hint of the sweet, smoky flavor again…
Wait.
“You gave me your blood.” “I did.”
“Ash.” Worry spread through me like a weed left to grow. He’d been imprisoned for weeks, and what blood he’d taken after being freed couldn’t have been enough to restore him. “You shouldn’t have done that—”
“You shouldn’t have used the eather to free my father,” he cut in gently. “So, we both did what we believed the other shouldn’t have.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“What you did caused you to deplete your energy and pass out,” he countered, the essence in his eyes dancing. “I, on the other hand, didn’t suffer those consequences.”
“Passing out probably has more to do with climbing those damn Temple steps than using the eather to free Eythos.”
A small smile appeared. “Sera.”
“I’m serious. I hate stairs, and it’s not any different. You need to conserve your energy.”
Ash sighed. “I didn’t give you very much blood, just enough…”
“Just enough to make sure I woke up,” I finished for him. Part of me was surprised that his blood had even done that at this point. Because the pain I’d felt in my chest? I wouldn’t have been surprised if my heart had imploded.
“You shouldn’t have done it.”
“And what should I have done?” The softness vanished from his features. “Let you die?” His eyes narrowed when I opened my mouth. “If you say yes, so help me Fates, Sera… Because I will not let you die.”
I started to sit up, but the arm I rested on tensed, and his hand curved around my shoulder. Frustration swept through me. “I wasn’t going to say that.”
“Really?”
“No.” I struggled in his hold. “You know what you should’ve done.”
“I did exactly what I should’ve done,” he shot back. “And stop trying to move around. You need to take it easy.”
“What is taking it easy going to do for me?” I threw up my arms, almost smacking him in the face. “The same as giving me blood? Delaying the
inevitable while wasting time?”
The skin of his cheeks thinned. Shadows blossomed, thickening. “Disagree.”
“Disagree?” I sputtered.
“I believe that is what I just said. You being angry with my response doesn’t change it.”
My eyes widened as I stared at him. “I’m not angry with you.” “Really?” he repeated dryly.
“Yes,” I hissed, trying to rein in my temper. I wasn’t angry with him. I
was furious with this—the situation he’d been put in. That I was in. What couldn’t be avoided. “You needed—”
“I did what I needed to do, Sera.”
“You two are arguing.” A deeper, raspier voice intruded. “I suppose that means Sera is feeling better.”
I twisted in Ash’s arms so fast I started to topple off the couch.
“For fuck’s sake,” Ash muttered, catching me. “Did I not just tell you to take it easy?”
My gaze swung toward gauzy turquoise curtains rippling in front of open doors and then to the tall male with long, black hair streaked with red who’d walked out. “Nektas.”
I saw his lips curve slightly as he crossed the veranda, ridges of scales visible across his bare shoulders. “Hello, Seraphena.”
Emotion swelled so intensely in my chest upon seeing him in his mortal form that it caught me off guard. Once again, I felt tears crowding my eyes. I had no idea why I was so freaking emotional all the time.
It probably had something to do with me dying.
But Nektas…he had always been kind to me. He’d never held what I had originally planned against me. And he…he’d told me that if I were ever not feeling okay, I could come and talk to him. That we would make sure I got back to being okay together.
“We weren’t arguing,” Ash said, giving up on keeping me prone. He sat up, bringing me with him. I ended up sitting half in his lap and half between his legs.
Nektas lifted a brow.
“We were having a discussion,” Ash tacked on. “Where we disagreed.”
Laughing under his breath, Nektas sat beside us. “You’re both right and wrong.”
I drew back. “You heard us.”
“Anyone near the veranda heard you two.”
“Oh.” My cheeks flushed as I glanced at the swaying curtains.
Ash folded his arm over my waist again. “What you meant to say is that I was right, and she was wrong.”
I shot him a glare over my shoulder. “That is not what he said.” He glanced down at me. “It’s what I heard.”
“Then there’s something wrong with your hearing.”
“Is this a continuation of the discussion where you two were not arguing but disagreeing?” Nektas asked.
“Yes,” Ash and I snapped at the same time. “At least you can agree on that.”
“I was simply telling him that he needs to take the embers,” I began.
“Not to sound repetitive,” Ash said, “but I disagree.” “Oh, my fucking gods.”
“Now, you’re just being sacrilegious.” I glared at him.
His lips twitched.
“That wasn’t even funny.” Ash opened his mouth.
“If you say disagree again, I cannot be held accountable for my actions—
my extremely violent actions.”
“As I was saying,” Nektas jumped in again, a lock of crimson-streaked hair sliding over his shoulder as he tilted his head. His eyes met mine.
“You’re right. Ash cannot afford to weaken himself. But,” he said before Ash
could intervene, “he only gave you a little of his blood. Not nearly enough to have stopped this inevitability.”
I snapped my mouth shut.
“I think it was more like his sheer will made it so you woke up,” Nektas continued.
His sheer will?
“And is waking up in the arms of the one you care so deeply for a waste of time? There is nothing I would not give to have one more moment with Halayna.”
My breath snagged at the raw honesty and lingering pain in his voice. I twisted toward Ash. “I don’t think any extra time with you is a waste. I wasn’t thinking.”
“I know.” Ash cupped my cheek.
“But Sera doesn’t have much more of that precious time,” Nektas said quietly. “And that cannot be denied. I can feel it.” He placed a hand against the coppery skin of his chest. “Scent it.”
My upper lip curled. “You can…smell it?”
“The body goes through natural changes when it begins to die. That is something we can smell,” he explained. I thought about the last time he’d said I smelled like death. Had I smelled like this the whole time? “And we can sense the fading of the embers.”
I looked at where Ehthawn rested and thought about the low, mournful sound I’d heard him make.
“So can Ash,” Nektas continued. “So can any Primal who is near you.” Reaching down, I folded my hand over the arm at my waist.
Nektas lifted his ruby eyes to Ash. “You know what has to be done. And
soon.”
Ash was completely still behind me. I didn’t even feel him breathe. “I do.”
Briefly squeezing my eyes shut, I leaned against Ash’s chest. There was so much I wanted to say, but most of it would only make things worse. I
knew that.
I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry about Orphine.” “As am I.”
Glancing at Ehthawn, I wished there was more I could say than that, but there truly weren’t words in any language that could capture the sorrow felt after a death. “How…how is Jadis? Reaver?”
Nektas’s handsome features softened. “They are good. Safe. Reaver has asked for you, and my daughter often searches for you.” His smile was sad. “I think she misses sleeping on your legs.”
My lips trembled, and I pressed them together as Ash folded his other arm over my chest. Would Jadis even remember that? What about Reaver? The knot tripled in size. My nose burned, and it took several moments for me to speak. “I…I’ve missed that,” I rasped. “I miss both of them.”
“I know,” Nektas said solemnly.
I met his gaze and tried to say more. What, exactly, I wasn’t even sure, but I couldn’t get anything out. The draken’s face blurred, and I tried to find that veil of nothingness because I didn’t want Ash feeling any of what I was. I didn’t want Nektas seeing it.
Nektas reached for me. His skin was so warm as he placed my hand between his palms. He said nothing as he drew it to his chest, pressing it over where I felt his heart beat—felt two beats, almost side by side. Then he returned my hand to Ash’s. His cool fingers threaded through mine. I blinked a couple of times, letting my head fall back against Ash’s chest.
Nektas turned to the doors and rose as Keella walked out onto the veranda, followed by Attes.
Icy air blasted off Ash when he saw Attes.
“I don’t want to intrude,” Attes announced, his steps slowing. “But you’re going to,” Ash replied coolly.
“I wouldn’t if I could.” Attes approached us as Keella stayed back. My
gaze dropped to the leather saddlebag gripped tightly in his hand. “How are you feeling, Seraphena?”
Ash couldn’t be more rigid if he tried. “I’m okay,” I said.
His smile was more of a grimace. “Why do I have a feeling you say that when it’s not true?”
“Because she does.” Ash’s palm flattened against my hip. “But knowing that won’t stop you.”
“Unfortunately, no,” Attes admitted quietly. “We need to take care of Sotoria’s soul.”
“I don’t give a fuck about that soul,” Ash snarled, shadows pressing against the flesh of the arm he had around my waist.
“But you need to care,” Attes began.
Ash’s head whipped toward the other Primal. “Was I not clear?” His voice vibrated with rage—his entire body did. But he held me so carefully, as if I
were made of nothing more than fragile, spun glass. “Ash,” I said, twisting toward him.
“I know she’s important.” Attes inched closer, speaking before I could continue. “I know she’s very important to you.”
The churning wisps of eather stilled in Ash’s eyes. He lifted his gaze from mine and slowly turned his head to the Primal. The look he gave the Primal of War and Accord could freeze a soul.
Attes was undaunted. “And I remember what that’s like. It fucking haunts me,” he said. I thought of the children he’d lost. “I’ve been told you had your kardia removed. In all honesty, I find that hard to believe, all things
considered.” He shot a pointed look at Ash. “However, if that’s true, you know what will happen.”
A low rumble of warning started in Ash’s chest.
“And I’m sorry. I really am,” Attes was quick to add. “I like Seraphena.
She…” He glanced at me, his sad smile not quite reaching his eyes. “She amuses me.”
The growl coming from Ash deepened.
Attes’s attention shifted back to Ash. “But the soul in her is far more important.”
“I’m not sure how any of that is helping right now,” I said, pressing a hand to Ash’s chest as his lips peeled back, revealing sharp fangs. “At all.”
“What I’m trying to say is that when Seraphena dies, Sotoria will be lost,” Attes stated. “And that means the only chance to truly stop Kolis dies with that soul. If that happens? Nothing will be able to stop him. And you know
more than anyone, he doesn’t need to Ascend into the Primal of Life and Death to wreak havoc.”
“You know an awful lot about this soul, given you’re the fucking Primal of War,” Ash spat. “Besides that, Sotoria isn’t really alive, now is she? Her soul is just an invader in Sera’s body, who is alive.”
My brows knitted. I got what Ash was saying, but… “She’s alive,” I whispered. Flat, chrome-hued eyes snapped back to mine. “I mean, maybe conscious is better than saying she’s alive, but she’s aware.”
Ash frowned.
“It’s true.” Attes had moved closer, maybe a few feet from us. “I heard Sotoria—her voice and laugh from Sera—when Kolis first had her. It’s a sound I would recognize anywhere.”
My lips parted in surprise. He was talking about when Kolis had tried to take the embers. Attes hadn’t shared that before.
“How would you know that?” Ash demanded.
“He knew Sotoria,” I answered. “I haven’t had a chance to tell you.”
Attes nodded. “I met her when Kolis first brought her back. In Dalos. I was…in her presence long enough to know her voice and laugh.”
“I have so many questions about that,” I murmured, but something suddenly occurred to me. “Even if I were Sotoria, and what Eythos planned
worked, we still can’t kill Kolis, right? He is the only one with true Primal of Death embers.”
“Correct.” Keella drifted closer, a woodsy, earthy scent following her. “If Kolis dies without there being true embers of death in someone else, the
release of those embers would devastate the realms and upset the balance.”
My brows lifted. “That brings me back to the point I was making. Kolis cannot be killed.”
“Yet,” Keella said.
“The Star.” Ash eyed the leather satchel Attes carried. “The Star can be used to transfer the embers from Kolis.”
“Of course,” I murmured as I frowned. “But it would be holding Sotoria’s soul.”
“Hopefully, not for long,” Attes said. “Eythos hoped Sotoria could weaken Kolis enough for the embers to be transferred to The Star.”
“But what if I hadn’t found the diamond?” I pointed out. “That was a huge risk to take.”
A wry grin appeared on Attes’s face. “As I said, I didn’t think Eythos’s plan was all that great.”
“Maybe it wasn’t his only plan,” Nektas commented. “Yes, Eythos could be impulsive, but I doubt he didn’t think of all the possible ways things could go wrong. He could’ve had other plans and simply didn’t share them.”
“There’s no way of knowing that,” Attes said. “But what I do know is that once Sotoria is reborn, we will have The Star and can end Kolis.”
Once Sotoria was reborn, she’d likely be raised as I was, steeped in death and groomed for one purpose only: to seduce and kill. Not to be her own
person, with a future. My stomach twisted with nausea.
I shook my head. “What about until then?”
“Several things have to happen before then,” Keella said. “Even though Eythos was no longer the Primal of Life when we placed Sotoria’s soul in
your bloodline, he still had the true embers of life then. For me to do what we
did again, I will need the true Primal of Life’s assistance.”
“So you will need Ash,” I said. The subject of my statement tensed behind me. “Then what?”
Keella’s gaze lifted to Ash and then returned to me, but it was Attes who said, “Then we would have to incapacitate Kolis until Sotoria can be reborn and come of age. He will be weakened by the Ascension of the true of Primal of Life. It will be our one opportunity to strike.”
Ash spoke then. “You speak of entombing him. Putting him in stasis.”
I now knew how that could be done—by using the bones of the Ancients. “You speak as if this will be easy to do,” Ash said. “Those loyal to him
will resist. They will fight for him.”
“There will be war,” I whispered, looking up at Attes. “But that war has been coming.”
Attes nodded. “But it won’t be the kind of war Kolis would wage.”
“Kolis claims he doesn’t want war,” I shared. “I know that’s hard to believe, and only part of me thinks he spoke the truth. But that was before… well, before now. When he wakes and realizes I’m not really Sotoria, it’ll be bad.”
“And we will be prepared.” Attes’s stare moved to Ash. “We can’t let the only hope we have of stopping Kolis die.”
“The only person I care about not dying is Sera,” Ash swore. My heart, well, it was doing flips now. Weak ones.
“And I understand that.” Attes lowered his voice. “But this is bigger than
you—than Seraphena. Than all of us. You know that. Deep down, you do.”
My gaze crawled back to Ash. “He’s right,” I said quietly. “And you
know it. You might not think so now, but later? When…when all of this was for nothing?”
“There won’t be a later when this was for nothing,” he countered. “Ash.” A palpation in my chest—a whooshing sensation—took my
breath, but only for a second. I ignored it. “This is important.”
“No, Sera. That soul isn’t important. You are.” His whirling silver eyes fixed on the other Primal. “She is what matters. And if I have to repeat that, I will rip out your tongue.”
A buzzing, bubbling sensation filled me as I stared up at the harshly beautiful lines of Ash’s face. It wasn’t the rather grotesque threat that made my heart swell and fill. It was the other words he’d spoken. That I was important to him. I mattered to him. I already knew I did, but I felt them in how he held me, tightly but gently. I heard them in how fiercely he spoke. I saw them in how he looked at me, his eyes a luminous, warm silver, and I knew them to be true.
I was important.
I mattered.
Not for what I had been born to do but for who I was.
And that realization wasn’t something that came all of a sudden, only
because Ash had said them. It was something I’d always known, wasn’t it? I
wouldn’t have been so relieved all those years ago when Ash refused to take me as his Consort. I’d known then that my life mattered, despite my duty and so-called failures. I just hadn’t allowed myself to accept the truth. Ash helped me see that. Accept it.
But I knew that Sotoria’s soul was also important.
Leaning into Ash, I cupped his cheek. Those frigid eyes landed on me. “I love you,” I whispered. “I love your protectiveness. I love that you see me.
That I’m important to you. That I matter. I love you so very much for that.”
A shudder went through him as the eather whirled more fiercely in his eyes. “You are the only thing that matters.”
“But I’m not,” I told him. “Sotoria does. Like your father, she has been trapped and doesn’t deserve what will happen if her soul remains in me.”
A muscle began ticking in his jaw.
“That’s not fair to her. You know that.” I drew my finger along his lower lip. “And I know you wouldn’t want that for her. My importance doesn’t cancel out hers.”
Eather flared brightly in his eyes. “I disagree.”
“Are you sure your kardia was correctly removed?” Attes asked dryly. He lifted a hand when Ash’s head swung toward him. “Just asking.”
“Ignore him.” I guided his gaze back to me. “Look, I’ve started the Ascension, but I’m not going to fully Ascend right this moment. We have time to take care of this, and it’s not like it will hurt me.” I looked over my shoulder, glancing between the two Primals. “Right?”
“It shouldn’t,” Keella answered.
“That’s not entirely reassuring,” Nektas murmured from where he stood.
“No, it isn’t.” Ash’s eyes narrowed on the Primal goddess.
“What we plan in regard to removing Sotoria’s soul and setting her on a path to be reborn is not without risk,” Keella said. “It could incite the wrath of the Fates.”
“What doesn’t incite their wrath?” I muttered dryly.
“Not much.” Keella’s brief smile vanished as she knelt beside Ash and me, her voice becoming solemn. “There is a balance to life, one that Eythos understood, but Kolis never truly could, no matter how hard he tried to. You see, if there is life, there must also be death.”
Understanding crept in as I thought about Marisol and my stepfather. “If you bring someone back to life, another loses their life? That kind of
balance?”
“It’s more than that, Seraphena. The Fates were never fond of restoring life. Not even what I do by giving those who never truly lived a chance to do so. But reincarnation is a loophole of sorts. What Kolis has done, what
Eythos and I took part in, and what we are about to do again will upset the balance.”
I wasn’t sure what she was getting at.
Keella leaned in, her ancient gaze fixing on mine. “There was a reason
Eythos had to be careful when it came to restoring life—giving it back to one who’d passed. It cannot be done twice for the same person—mortal, god, or draken—without the Arae intervening in some fashion, becoming the checks and balances. Therefore, doing so will never end the way one intends. Either death will come for them again, or the Arae will reset the balance in some other way.” Her lips quirked. “After all, look at the mess we—Kolis, Eythos,
and I—have created with Sotoria.” She paused. “And there is no way the Fates have not dipped their hands in this and made it even messier.”
“That’s…that’s why Holland called the Revenants an abomination, isn’t it?” I glanced at Ash. “Because they keep coming back.”
Keella nodded. “Sotoria has died multiple times and was brought back in one form or another. Then her soul was reincarnated. That ceased when we placed her with the embers. She was supposed to be reborn. That did not occur.”
It struck me then. “Could the Fates have been why I wasn’t reborn as Sotoria and instead became a…a vessel for her?”
“I cannot answer that for sure, but if I had to hazard a guess, I would say so.”
I shook my head. “So, they could do something similar again?”
“Or not.” Keella tilted her head. “They could do something far more… concerning. There’s no way to know, but it would be foolish of us not to consider the risk.”
I studied her. “You sound afraid of the Arae.”
“The oldest of us are wise enough to be wary of them.” She smiled. “We may be Primals, but we are not the ultimate power.”
“At this moment, I couldn’t care less about pissing off the Fates. That wasn’t what I was asking,” Ash stated, impatience filling his tone. “Will removing Sotoria’s soul harm Sera in any way?”
Keella’s gaze flicked up to Ash. “No.” That was a relief. “How is it done?”
“Have you been able to sense the dual souls?”
He shook his head. “I’ve only ever been able to feel the imprint of Sera’s soul.”
“Interesting.” Keella’s brows furrowed and then smoothed out. “Since I have handled this soul before, I will be able to, but I need your help, Nyktos. I need you to keep your hands on Sera and concentrate on her soul.”
“Is there a chance you will do something to Sera’s soul?” Ash demanded.
A trickle of unease ran down my spine as Ehthawn lifted his head from where it rested. Nektas stepped forward, his arms crossing.
Keella smiled. “Not if you do as I request. You will…basically be anchoring yourself to her soul. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Ash said, and I was glad he did because I didn’t. “Let’s do this then.”
Attes stepped forward, lifting the saddlebag. Reaching inside, he pulled out the diamond and extended his hand, his fingers opening.
The Star rested on his palm, its edges jagged and irregular. There was no milky light filling the diamond now, but every part reflected whatever light found its way to it, casting shimmering rainbow hues over my legs and across the floor.
Keella carefully took The Star. Her silver eyes met mine. “Attes said you were able to feel Sotoria’s presence? Is that true now?”
Wetting my lips, I closed my eyes and concentrated. There was no hum in my chest, but there was an awareness—that presence near my heart. It was so faint, and I wondered if my being so close to death affected her. I nodded, opening my eyes. “I can feel her.”
“Good.” Keella was looking at Ash as Attes took a step back. “Ready?”
Ash pressed his palm between my breasts. “Ready,” he said gruffly.
A moment later, Keella placed her hand just below Ash’s, her pinky finger overlapping his. My lips twitched as I fought a ridiculous giggle.
Ash’s head tilted down. “What are you thinking?” he asked. “Just that it’s not often I have two Primal hands on my breasts.”
Nektas snorted as a dimple appeared in Attes’s right cheek. I could feel Ash shaking his head behind me.
Keella’s smile tipped up. “Try to concentrate on Sotoria’s soul.”
I nodded obediently and could’ve sworn I saw Attes’s other dimple wink to life.
The white aura behind Keella’s pupils pulsed. Tendrils of eather seeped out, swirling across her irises and into her skin. Her eyes closed as the wisps spread over her smoky-reddish-brown cheeks and moved down her throat until her entire being was awash in essence.
Ash lowered his head, pressing his cheek against mine as I concentrated on Sotoria’s presence. A heartbeat passed, and then a faint coolness seeped into my torso. I wasn’t sure if it was Ash’s touch or more—him anchoring himself to my soul.
“Do you have Seraphena’s soul?” Keella asked. “I do,” Ash confirmed, his voice rough.
I almost asked what it felt like, what it looked like, but it probably
wouldn’t be wise to break anyone’s concentration.
Including mine.
“I feel her,” Keella announced with a solemn sigh. “Suu ta lene.” The essence around her flared. “Vas na sutum.”
“It is okay,” Ash translated quietly for me. “You are safe.”
“Vena ta mayah,” she urged. I knew that one. Come to me. Tendrils of eather crackled around her. “Illa vol la sutum.”
“She will…she will be safe,” Ash repeated.
That didn’t make sense, except…Keella had told her to come to her and then said she would be safe. She wasn’t talking about Sotoria. She was talking about me.
Oh, gods. Was Sotoria somehow resisting because she was worried about me?
“Illa vol ori,” Keella told her. “Illa vol…” Whatever else Keella said was lost to the sudden buzzing in my ears.
Ash inhaled sharply, and my body jerked as I felt Sotoria respond. It was
like she was disentangling herself from me and suddenly moving closer to the surface. That was the only way I could describe it.
“Hold on to Seraphena,” Keella instructed. “Always,” Ash responded. “Always.”
My heart stuttered and then sped up as I looked down, barely able to see
past the aura coming off Keella. Still, I felt the sudden warmth pulsing over the skin of my chest under their hands.
A soft, silvery-white light suddenly radiated from my chest. My eyes widened as Keella replaced her hand with the one that held The Star. The hard edges pressed into my skin—
I heard Sotoria then.
Heard her speaking just as her soul left me and poured into the diamond.
Keella rocked back, the essence dimming around her as she looked down at The Star. An intense, bright white light floated inside the stone.
“It is done?” Attes asked, his voice thick.
“It is.” The Primal goddess rose, turning to Attes. “We will keep her safe.”
“Until…” I cleared my throat. “Until when?”
“Until it’s best to allow her to be reborn,” she said as Attes took the diamond. He handled it with reverence, gently placing it inside the satchel. “Once we can be sure that Kolis will not be able to find her before she is ready.”
Before she is ready.
A sour taste gathered in my mouth as I placed my hand on my chest. Ash asked me if I was okay, and I nodded. I didn’t feel different, yet I did. The
presence I hadn’t been aware of for most of my life was gone, but Sotoria’s parting words lingered.
We will meet again.
